


Hanging on the Telephone

by drulas



Category: Utopia (TV 2013)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-04
Updated: 2014-08-04
Packaged: 2018-02-11 19:04:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2079624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drulas/pseuds/drulas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short scene about how Milner receives news of Philip Carvel's death. Set in between SE02 EP01 & EP02.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hanging on the Telephone

The call come through on a wet October afternoon. Milner was working her way through the mountain of paperwork that came with the job these days. Back when she started out, they joked that there would be no need for filling out endless forms. Just a few clicks of the mouse and rattles on a keyboard and a computer would do the rest. 

Those dinosaurs had no idea. 

As she turned the page of the inch deep form, a shrill sound sliced through the quiet calm of her office. It came from a phone, hidden in the top drawer of her desk. This was not a phone that rang often. 

Milner threw down her pen, pulled open the drawer and answered halfway through the third ring. ‘Milner.’ Always a statement, never a question. 

‘We’ve found him.’

Her heart flexed but her voice remained steady. ‘Where is he?’

‘Dead.’

_Oh Philip._ There was a slight delay to her response. ‘Good. One less problem to worry about.’

‘Except…’

‘What?’

‘He was hidden in a psychiatric hospital. False name, of course, but had enough medical history to avoid any questions being asked. Model patient apparently. They let him draw. Lots and lots of detailed drawings.’ 

‘Christ! How the hell did that slip out?’ 

‘No idea. We’re working on tracing the link. Some copies have been destroyed. Paper is a highly flammable material − fortunately for us.’ 

‘What’s happened to the ones you haven’t located?’

This time there was a pause on the other side of the line. ‘They’ve been sold. Gathered together as a comic book that he called Utopia. I’ve seen extracts. He’s been watching our work closely.’ 

‘I didn’t ask for a fucking critical review. This is a damage limitation situation.’ 

‘Yes, I realise that. But it’s important to know what’s happening. This style of comics seem to be popular at the moment. Especially those of an apopoclyptic nature.’ 

‘Perhaps it might blend in for the moment. In the meantime, can you continue tracking down the other sources?’

‘Of course.’ She knew she could trust the voice on the other end of the phone. A man so devoted to his work that he went through painful surgery and had symbols carved into his stomach. 

‘Well, I’ll leave you to it. Report back when you have more news.’ 

‘Yes, ma’am. Until next time.’ She heard the click at his end of the line then the dull whine of the dial tone kicked in. 

Gently, she placed the receiver back on top of the phone and closed the drawer. Milner sat, her hands clasped on the desk in front of her. Philip Carvel was dead. That wonderful, intelligent, beautiful man was gone. The last time she saw him, he had been screaming in pain as each of his fingernails were ripped off. She had begged him to tell them where the Janus vaccine was. The look he had given her still sent a chill through her heart. 

One tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it away. She allowed herself that one luxury. 

Her eyes fell back to the papers requiring her annotations. She picked up her pen and swiftly drew red lines through a block of text. 

Just another way to kill time until the phone rang again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
